We Will Rise
by GleekMom
Summary: Ready to Fly series: Blaine and Kurt hope that their art will make a difference in the world. Because sometimes the world changes for the better. And sometimes it changes for the worse. (series of one-shots where RTF Blaine and Kurt respond to world events)
1. June 26, 2015

**Author's Note:**

Hello! I know many of you are mad at me for not finishing Spreading My Wings and I totally get it, I'm mad at myself! But, there was something that was written that I'd planned (back in 2015) to put in the chapter that I really wanted to share. And then there was an election.

This is really just a series of one-shots in the post-Glee RTF universe. Sizes of chapters will vary greatly I'm sure.

Maybe this will be my way of processing the daily US news. This is how Kurt and Blaine process it.

* * *

 **JUNE 26, 2015**

Blaine: (9:50am) Hey, where are you?

Kurt: (9:51am) In the library. Figured I'd get here before the crowd.

B: (9:52am) Can you pick up some milk on your way home?

K: (9:53am) There's almost a full gallon in the fridge.

B: (9:54am) Um, not anymore.

K: (9:55am) Why?!

B: (9:56am) I made waffles.

K: (9:57am) For an army?!

B: (9:58am) For breakfast. For the next few weeks, I put them in the freezer.

K: (10:00am) So you make a thousand waffles and I have to go to the store to get more milk? How is that fair? I won't even eat them.

B: (10:01am) You won't eat my waffles?

K: (10:02am) Maybe I would have if there was milk in the house.

B: (10:07am): We should have waited to get married.

K: (10:08am) Because of milk?!

B: (10:09am) No, because if we waited until today we could have gotten married in Ohio instead of a barn in Indiana.

K: (10:10am) What are you talking about?

B: (10:11am) Or any state really. Since it just became legal everywhere.

K: (10:12am) WHAT!?

B: (10:13am) MARRIAGE EQUALITY. IN ALL 50 STATES KURT! SCOTUS RULING JUST CAME DOWN!

K: (10:15am) OH MY GOD IM GONNA CRY. MY HANDS ARE SHAKING.

B: (10:16am) I'M SOBBING. Hurry home. I need to kiss you.

K: (10:17am) I'll be there soon.

B: (10:18am) I love you! Oh, and don't forget the milk!


	2. July 26, 2017

**July 26, 2017**

Blaine was already out of bed and the bedroom when Kurt finally slipped into the shower. It was summer, they didn't have class, work didn't start until later. There was no reason not to be lazy. He styled his hair and dressed, only realizing as he walked out of the bedroom that there was no smell of breakfast like there would normally be on a morning they both had free.

He'd expected Blaine to be in the kitchen gathering ingredients or maybe sitting at the table studying lines for tonight's rehearsal. He could even have been on his keyboard, headphones on, not wanting to wake Kurt before he was ready.

He didn't expect Blaine to be sitting on the couch, head down, phone in his hand. But maybe he should have. It had become a far more common occurrence lately. In 2016 it had sent dread through Kurt's body. It almost always meant that someone had died, someone important. Someone that had in some small way, changed both of their lives. Carrie Fisher may have been the worst.

But 2017 had brought with it a whole new set of tweets to bring despair to their lives. They tried not to let it get to them. They tried not to get caught up in all the things the new president was doing that if anyone had been watching they would have known he'd do them all along. They'd learned since January how to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not be paralyzed on the couch by 140 characters.

But that morning, Blaine was most definitely paralyzed.

Kurt walked over and started to worry when Blaine didn't respond. "What did he say now?" Kurt asked carefully.

Blaine didn't answer though. He just held out his phone for Kurt to read.

Trump had banned all transgender people from serving in the military. In any capacity. He called them burdens. Disruptions.

"Jesus," Kurt swore, sitting down carefully next to his husband. This rarely happened any more. It took a lot to trigger Blaine.

This was enough.

Reaching up a hand, gently brushing the hair back from Blaine's face, those lost golden eyes finally turned to look at him.

"Talk to me, Blaine," Kurt said.

Blaine started but his phone rang. Kurt picked it up and handed it to him. One look at who it was and a tear slipped from Blaine's eyes. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. "Hey Dad," he answered, putting the phone on speaker. Kurt didn't know if he was trying to sound normal or not, but to him Blaine just sounded broken.

The Colonel must have heard it too.

"I needed to make sure…are you okay?"

Kurt nearly cried himself, the worry in the Colonel's voice, the understanding, so far from where they had started. Sometimes it still surprised them both. Change was possible. Even with the news of the day he was reminded of that. Maybe because of the news of the day.

"No. No I'm not. How could he…?"

Blaine's voice trailed off. Kurt knew he didn't have the words now, punched out of him by the force of hate. The words would come. But it was too soon.

The Colonel knew it too. "I'm speaking at an event Friday night. The Military Ball in Columbus. Black tie. How about you come with me?"

Blaine shook his head. "I can't just go to Ohio with a moment's notice, Dad, Kurt and I have plans-"

"Yes you can," Kurt said and Blaine looked at him. "We can. I don't care what we had plans for Blaine, this is more important than anything. You need to do this."

"We need to do this," the Colonel said. "I can say what I need to say, but it won't mean anything without you beside me."

Blaine took a deep breath and nodded his head. "Okay."

* * *

They walked into the ballroom, taking it in. Blaine had been to these affairs before. He knew some of the people there, both active and retired ranking officers with their families. He'd been humiliated in front of some of them before, he realized, and he gripped Kurt's hand.

"Deep breaths, Blaine," Kurt told him. "I know you're on edge, but-"

"But you're going to be fine." They both turned to see the Colonel. He fondly pretended to straighten Blaine's bowtie. "We're both going to be fine."

"Dad are you sure…are you sure you want to do this?" Blaine looked out to people his father had known his whole life. His father had changed enormously since those early days. But sharing this much with them…

"Yes," John said. "I'm sure. And Blaine, you tell them anything you need to tell them. No secrets."

Blaine nearly argued, but the pride and love that rushed through his veins at his father's courage silenced him, and all he did was smile and nod.

And then his father stepped behind the podium.

"Good evening everyone," the Colonel said, getting them to quiet down quickly. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Colonel John Anderson. I've been speaking at this event for a lot of years. And two nights ago I put some finishing touches on a speech that someday I hope you get to hear, because honestly, it was pretty darn good." He chuckled and the audience laughed with him. He took a moment to collect himself again. "But Wednesday morning, I read my twitter feed, as I'm sure all of you did. And I knew my obligation to speak today had suddenly taken on new meaning."

Blaine was watching him. He knew how difficult this was. And it meant the world to him that his father had had the same reaction he'd had.

"When I saw the news that our President had banned transgender people from serving their country in our armed forces, the first thing I did was call my son. Because he knows, more than anyone, the effects bans like this can have. And I don't just mean to the LGBTQ soldiers who proudly and bravely serve our nation. But he also knows all too well, the effect this can have on soldiers with LGBTQ family members - brothers, or sisters, or children. But that's his story to tell. So, please give a warm welcome to my son, Blaine Devon Anderson-Hummel."

Kurt squeezed his hand and Blaine's heart raced in his chest as he stepped onto the stage. Speaking or singing someone else's words was easy. But sharing his own life with the very people from whom he was taught to hide. That was much harder.

"Thank you Dad," he said, gripping the podium in his hands. His father nodded to him and patted him on the back. This was their truth to share. And in this moment, it needed to be shared. "Now, I want to make it clear that I don't speak for the soldiers on the field. I'm an actor, I never served in any capacity other than as an army Brat. But I can tell you what it was like, for me, to grow up with my father: The Colonel."

He took a deep breath and for one second closed his eyes. This was it. There was press here. Once things like this are out, they can never be put back in.

"I was nine years old when my father was deployed overseas. We didn't have the greatest of relationships before he left, and I'll admit I was kind of glad that he'd gone. I didn't understand then, and I wouldn't for a long time after that, the kind of anger and fear and guilt and hate he would come home with, because of the things he'd seen. The things he'd done. And the things he didn't do."

He looked at Kurt who was standing there, blue eyes, proud eyes, shining up at him, and he breathed in that strength, as he always had.

"I was fourteen years old, my father had been home a little over a year I think, when I decided to tell him and my mother that I was gay. There was a dance at school and I was going to go with a boy, I told them. My father told me that no, I wasn't. But he'd taught me to always fight for what was right. And so I did. But I lost the fight that night to my father's anger and fear and hate."

It was so long ago and yet he could still feel it in his skin.

"I went to the dance anyway. I went with a boy anyway. We were attacked after the dance, by other boys who had their own hate and anger and fear in their hearts. I stayed in the hospital for a few days. But my father never came to visit me."

"You see, if there was one set of rules that my father lived by, it was the rule of the United States military. And the rule then, as you all know, was _Don't Ask, Don't Tell_. It's a rule that implied that if you do tell someone that you're gay, then whatever happens to you afterwards is your own damn fault. A consequence of being who you are. It's a rule my father believed with every fiber of his being. I was not allowed to be open about my sexuality to anyone. So I deserved what those boys did to me. It was my fault, for telling."

"After that, I was taken out of public school. Hidden away at a prestigious all boys boarding school he could brag about to his friends. But there were rules. I was not allowed to date anyone. When I came home to functions like this, I was not to let anyone know I was gay. If he heard even a hint of my sexuality amongst the whispers in the crowd, I was punished for it. And I deserved it, because I had told. And if I had told, than he would have had to tell and I would bring on him a storm of disgrace. It was not just the law in my father's army. _Don't Ask, Don't Tell_ became the law in my own home."

Kurt caught his eye and Blaine saw his husband wipe a stray tear from his cheek. It was still hard for Kurt to remember everything that Blaine had had to survive. But Blaine was who he was because of everything. The bad. And the good.

Blaine smiled down at him. "A boy came into my life, when I was 16 years old. A wonderful, courageous boy who taught me that hiding who I was, was wrong. And that the consequences I'd endured for telling my truth were not my fault. That I didn't deserve to be hurt by my father, or anyone, for being gay. That boy saved my life."

"But he couldn't save the relationship between my father and me. Only one thing could do that."

On September 20, 2011, _Don't Ask, Don't Tell_ was officially repealed. I remember sitting with Kurt in front of the TV and YouTube all day, watching story after story of soldiers coming out, some even getting married. I spent a lot of that day in tears, wondering what it meant for me and my father. The new law of the military demanded that gays and lesbians and bisexuals be treated with respect. That we be accepted as equals. And that the negative consequences of our coming out, were not our fault."

He stole a glance at his dad, who was staring at the ground, hiding the shame from everyone but him. They had long since reconciled and could talk to each other openly about everything that had happened. But this was public. And Blaine was laying him bare.

"I'd hoped my father would embrace this law as he did every other piece of the military code. And it took time, it took trainings and counseling, but as much as _Don't Ask, Don't Tell_ destroyed our relationship, the repeal saved it. My father grew and learned and came to accept me. He came to love me for who I am, not in spite of it. And he learned to love that boy too, the one that saved me, and my father danced with me at our wedding. But if you had told me ten years ago that my father and I would be standing here today, talking about the dangers of the President's new ban on transgender soldiers, I would have thought you were crazy. But he's here. And he is my greatest hero. I love you, Dad."

The audience applauded and the Colonel pulled Blaine into his arms, hugging him, whispering in his ear that he'd done well, and he was proud of him. Blaine smiled and then with a sigh of relief he went back into the crowd to stand next to Kurt.

"You are my hero," Kurt whispered in his ear and Blaine leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder and watched his dad.

"Thank you, Blaine. The fact is, that you've been my hero for a very long time now. Even before I knew it. Because no matter what I said to him, no matter what I did to him, and no matter how much pain the people he loved put him through, he never stopped fighting – for his freedom and for the freedom of others. And if that's not a soldier, I don't know what is."

His father started to applaud him. And the room joined in. Blaine tried not to cry. These tears had been shed so long ago. But sometimes in life, there were moments. And this was one.

His father felt it too.

"There are days in your life when you remember exactly where you were in the moment that something big happens. I think the repeal of _Don't Ask, Don't Tell_ was one of those moments for both of us. And I remember standing there, feeling like I'd been punched in the gut. Because suddenly everything I had believed in, everything that was the worst part of my life, my worst moments, and my goddamn righteousness, was completely flipped on its ear."

"Because how could I turn my back on my son, when the institution that I loved had just opened its arms to him."

"This ban. It doesn't just affect the transgender soldiers already fighting. And it doesn't just affect the transgender young people who want to serve their country. It affects every serviceman with a brother, or a sister, or a parent, or a child who is transgender. Because the door was just shut on them. No ifs, ands, or buts. No questions. Banned. In any capacity. Burdens for our country. Distractions from our freedom. I worry for every single one of these people. But my heart breaks for the transgender children who had hope that their parents would accept them, and whose hopes were just stolen away. Likely for nothing more than a political pawn."

The Colonel looked out at the crowd. Every eye was on him. Looking to him for what came next. And he didn't know.

"I'm not sure what to do here. I'm not sure how to take a stand. Other than to tell as many people as I can the horrors that _Don't Ask, Don't Tell_ put my family through and the complete joy the repeal has brought us. It never hurts to include people. It never hurts to tell them you accept them as they are. That you accept who they love. What hurts our country is when we turn our back on a segment of the population and we say - You are a Distraction. You are a Burden. All I can say to those people is, you are not. Not to this Colonel and not to any Colonel, Commander, or General that I know. In the past six years, we have all learned better. We have all started to do better.

It seems the president never learned. So it's time for us to fight. It's time for us to be soldiers and protect the freedom of every American. My son has taught me that. And I hope he's taught you a little bit too. Thank you."

The Colonel stepped off the podium to great applause and Blaine wrapped his arms around him. "I love you, son."

Blaine just smiled. Because it was true.

"I love you too."


End file.
